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A few tips for getting soil ready
for spring
By Scott Nicholson
Though soil preparation is a year-round task, it’s
not too late to improve on Mother Nature’s humble offering
of dirt.
Soil amendments are best made gradually, beginning with a soil
test to determine the acidity and level of organic matter in the
soil.
However, if you are breaking in a new patch of ground or filling
up some front-porch containers, a few simple steps can increase
the yield, whether growing vegetables or flowers.
If breaking new ground, remove the top layer of grass and vegetation
with a shovel.
This layer can be set aside, composted, or placed at the bottom
of a trench and covered over with six to eight inches of dirt,
giving earthworms some decaying vegetation to convert to nitrogen-rich
soil.
If you want to plan ahead, you can cover an area of grass or weeds
with layers of newspaper, with several inches of mulch piled on
top.
As the roots die, worms convert the matter to soil, and six months
to a year later, the area is a raised bed that can planted with
little effort.
Grass clippings and dead leaves make excellent mulch or composting
material, and a compost pile of organic matter is also a great
place to put kitchen scraps.
The material can be allowed to age and break down to a rich, crumbly
humus or can be mixed straight into the soil.
For more intensive gardening, turf can be removed with a spade,
then compost, mulch, dried manure and appropriate levels of lime
can be applied, and then tilled or turned with a shovel or mattock.
For root growth, bone meal can provide calcium, and wood ash is
a rich source of phosphorous, potassium and magnesium.
Hardwood ash, typical from woodstoves, have more calcium and potash
than pine or other soft woods, though not as much calcium as lime.
If using chemical fertilizers, check the formula to best match
your soil’s needs.
The numbers on the bag indicate the levels of nitrogen, phosphorous
and potassium.
For example, a 10-10-10 formula means there is a 10-percent supply
of each of the components.
Nitrogen can be enhanced with dried blood, though healthy soil
already contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Some growers protect their plants from drought by mulching around
them or planting cover crops such as clover or vetch between the
rows.
These natural barriers also enhance the soil through the decomposing
matter, though the plants may compete with vegetables or flowers
for water and sunlight if not curtailed in some way.
Soils with heavy clay benefit from the addition of some sand or
organic matter, with recommendations of up to a third of the amount
of organic matter added to two-thirds the amount of soil. As the
matter decomposes, the soil becomes darker and looser.
If using a tiller on new ground, add resistance so that the tiller
breaks ground slowly.
Try to till the ground in at least two passes, and avoid tilling
side-by-side rows as the tiller tends to drag toward the softer
soil and makes steady traction difficult to maintain.
Even container gardens can use a little sprucing up.
While bagged potting soil is generally rich in nutrients, specific
plants may require special treatment.
For example, some growers add additional lime, bone meal, or wood
ash to tomato plants to help prevent blight. Overall, healthier
plants are more immune to blights and pests.
As with any “medicine,” too much of a good thing is
not such a good thing.
Excess nitrogen can stunt or kill plants, and even organic fertilizers
can burn plants.
Avoid applying any fertilizer directly to roots, and remember
that the spreading of nutrients through the soil takes time.
That’s where nature’s wonder tiller, the earthworm,
comes in handy. If you do nothing else to enhance your soil, the
introduction of a few nightcrawlers is sure to leave your dirt
looser, darker, and richer.
You’ll also notice they love to congregate around roots or
decaying organic matter.
Even the lowly slug, a bane of many gardeners, helps fulfill this
task, so consider this when tempted to salt them or use a pesticide.
If working the soil seems more like a fight than a symbiosis,
remember that you aren’t inventing a new science. Nature
has been growing food, flowers and trees successfully for millions
of years.
That’s a track record that should give even those with gray
thumbs hope for a successful harvest.
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